The Holocaust remains firmly embedded in many people’s minds, particularly survivors – who are now in their 80s and 90s – and those who lost family members.
Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered more than six million Jews across German-occupied Europe – about two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population.
The world must never forget. That is why Melbourne’s Holocaust Museum, redesigned by one of Australia’s leading architects, Kerstin Thompson, is so important.
In contrast to many similar museums around the world, including Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin, which has a more foreboding presence, the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, on Selwyn Street, Elsternwick, is light and ethereal.
“We didn’t want to recreate the horror of the times through architecture, but rather assist those confronting the atrocities of the Second World War,” says Thompson, director of KTA Architects.
The architect was recently honoured with Australia’s most prestigious design accolade, The Gold Medal, and has been at the forefront of creating memorable buildings since she started her practice three decades ago.
The Melbourne Holocaust Museum, along with her Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge project, in Illaroo, NSW – which received the Sulman Award in 2022 – represents not only Thompson’s ability to create impressive architecture but also her skill in telling stories through building design.
Read the article by Stephen Crafti in WAtoday and The Sydney Morning Herald.